Animal & Veterinary

December 3, 2018Updated December 6, 2018: Added recall press releases for certain Abound products sold through Kroger and King Sooper.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating the presence of elevated, potentially toxic levels of vitamin D in several dry pet foods.

Fast Facts

The FDA is alerting pet owners and veterinary professionals about recalls of several dry dog foods after receiving complaints that dogs eating the food experienced vitamin D toxicity.

Testing found that samples of the dog food contained excessive, potentially toxic amounts of vitamin D. Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for dogs, but very high amounts can cause serious health problems like kidney failure or death.

At this time, the only pet products that have been impacted are food made for dogs.

What is the Problem?

The FDA has become aware of reports of vitamin D toxicity in dogs that ate dry dog food common contract manufacturer and marketed under several different brand names. This is a developing situation, and the FDA will update this page with additional information as it becomes available.

What are the Symptoms of Vitamin D Toxicity?

Excess vitamin D in the diet can cause vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst, increased urination, excessive drooling and weight loss. Vitamin D at toxic levels can cause kidney failure and death. Pet owners whose dogs have been eating the recalled brands and are showing these symptoms should contact their veterinarians.

What is FDA doing to address the situation?

After receiving complaints from pet owners about dogs with vitamin D toxicity, one of the firms reported to the FDA that it was recalling dry pet food due to potentially toxic levels of vitamin D. Many other brands with a common contract manufacturer have also been recalled. The FDA is working with the contract manufacturer to provide a comprehensive list of affected brands.

FDA scientists are still analyzing reports and the information currently available to determine whether the illnesses are definitively connected to diet.

FDA scientists have evaluated samples of some of these products, and State and private lab test results indicate that the food contained as much as approximately 70 times the intended amount of vitamin D. Consuming food with such high levels of vitamin D is potentially toxic to dogs and in severe cases may lead to kidney failure and/or death.

What Do Retailers Need To Do?

Don’t sell the recalled foods. Contact the manufacturer for further instructions. The FDA also encourages retailers to contact consumers who have purchased recalled products, if they have the means to do so (such as through shopper’s card records or point-of-sale signs).

What Do Pet Owners Need To Do?

If your pet is having symptoms of vitamin D toxicity, contact a veterinarian immediately. Provide a full diet history to your veterinarian. You may find it helpful to take a picture of the pet food label, including the lot number.

Don’t feed the recalled products to your pets or any other animal. Contact the company listed on the package for further instructions or throw the products away in a way that children, pets and wildlife cannot access them.

What Do Veterinarians Need To Do?

The FDA encourages veterinarians treating vitamin D toxicity to ask their clients for a diet history. We also welcome case reports, especially those confirmed through diagnostics. You can submit these reports electronically through the Safety Reporting Portal or by calling your state’s FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinators. For an explanation of the information and level of detail that would be helpful to include in a complaint to the FDA, please see How to Report a Pet Food Complaint.

Veterinarians should also be aware that vitamin D toxicity may present as hypercalcemia, similar to dogs that have consumed rodenticide. In these cases, we suggest that you confirm diet history to verify whether the dog has been eating any of the recalled products.

The information in this release reflects the FDA’s best efforts to communicate what it has learned from the manufacturer and parties involved in the investigation. The agency will update this page as more information becomes available.